Rachel Moves On
by KnockingDoor
Summary: Season 3. After breaking up with Ross, Rachel decides to brave the dating world again. (I wrote this to deal with my angry feelings toward Ross during this season... no regrets, shipping Rachel x Mark and can't be stopped.) Probably a one-shot.


Rachel's hand almost slipped when her phone rang, ruining her nail polish with it, but she just managed to keep a steady hand and un-smudged nails. "Monica?" she shouted, even though she knew her roommate was in the shower. _Damn it. _Now she had to answer the phone with wet nails.

"Yeah, hello?" she said, distracted by her mission.

"Rachel! Oh, thank God you finally answered." She almost dropped the phone, and not just out of surprise. Ross wouldn't quit calling even after she told him in no uncertain terms to leave her alone, and it would serve him right if she were to hang up on him.

But she tried to keep her voice free from anger when she responded. "Ross, didn't I tell you to stop calling me?"

"I couldn't help it."

Rachel ground her teeth together. "Yeah, you're always doing things that you just _can't help. _I'm starting to think you don't understand the concept of self-control." Ross didn't answer, and she sighed. "Sorry, Ross, but now's not a good time. As I already told you."

His voice rose into something bordering on a whine. "You keep saying that. Why is it _never _a good time? We have to talk sometime, and it might as well be now—"

"Ross, I'm seeing someone else."

No answer.

Rachel exhaled a nervous breath, then ran her fingers through her hair until she felt them stick. Damn it again. Now her nails _and _her hair were ruined. "And you're right. We have to talk sometime. But Ross, you don't get to decide when that time is! You're the one who cheated on me. I still need some space."

"Need some space? How much space will you have when you're _seeing someone else?_"

Well, at least he didn't pull the old 'we were on break' line this time. She glanced at the clock and was shocked to realize how far behind schedule she was. "Ross, we're going to have to talk about this later. And for the last time, no more calling here. When I feel ready to talk about this, I will." He didn't answer. He was probably pouting, but for once she had no interest in making him feel better.

"Okay…" Ross whimpered, and she could tell that he was waiting to be placated. Not tonight. She said the quickest goodbye of her life, then hung up the phone.

"Well, that went well," Rachel murmured. Now that her nails were smeared and some of the polish was probably stuck in her hair – not to mention her date was going to show up in less than ten minutes – Ross was the least of her concerns.

There was a knock at the door.

Monica poked her head out of the bathroom, her dark hair wrapped up in a towel. "Someone's getting lucky! Don't you look…" Her eyes finally landed on Rachel—"Like someone who is definitely not going out tonight?"

"Oh!" Rachel howled in despair, looking at the front door with wide eyes. The front layers of her hair were soggy because she'd been reduced to rinsing out the nail polish in the kitchen sink. She was still in her T-shirt and jeans. After repainting her nails, she'd been waiting for them to dry before changing into her date outfit, but they were still not quite ready.

Monica and Rachel exchanged a look. "Well, don't expect me to answer the door," Monica finally said, gesturing to her towel and bathrobe.

"I knoooow," Rachel moaned, blowing frantically on her fingernails. "This is such a disaster already."

But there was nothing to do but open the door. She grimaced in apology as Mark stepped into the apartment. He was looking great, in a nice jacket and dress pants. Even his hair was looking better than hers!

He took in her wet bangs and T-shirt. "Am I early or just… severely overdressed?"

Rachel covered her face with her hands. "I'm sorry! Everything just kept going wrong and I'm so behind. Ten minutes?"

Mark laughed. "Sure. Don't worry about it."

Rachel hurtled herself into the bathroom. "Mon, help me blow-dry my nails." Monica looked ready to laugh at her, but Rachel's expression must have stopped her, because instead she merely suppressed a smile and plugged in the blow-dryer.

"Rachel, you're a grown woman. If you're really going to blow dry your nails, can't you do it yourself?"

"Um… no?" Rachel tried to look pathetic. "I can't take any more risks with my nails—I've already messed them up, like, three times! Just do it, okay?"

One minute later, she dashed to her room and surveyed the outfit laid out on her bed. After her experience making Ross late to his stupid museum event earlier that year, she hadn't wanted to take any chances. _And look how well that turned out. _Feeling miserable instead of excited, she changed as quickly as she could. Luckily, her date outfit was pretty simple, just a dress, tights, and heels. There wasn't time anymore to debate about what she was wearing, so Rachel grabbed her purse and jacket without even glancing at her jewelry collection, then ran back out to Mark.

He was sitting on the couch, still wearing his jacket, practically clicking his heels together and humming he looked so content. Rachel let out an internal sigh of relief. She hadn't really tested Mark out as a potential boyfriend yet, but he had at least one thing going for him—patience.

Mark perked up even more, somehow, when he saw her. "Ready?"

She nodded. "Thanks so much for waiting… I know we're going to be late now and I feel terrible."

"That's fine," he said with a shrug. "We'll have plenty of other opportunities to see it." He checked his watch. "We can still go if you don't mind missing the first fifteen minutes. Or we could do something else. I'm up for whatever you want to do, honestly."

Rachel made a face without meaning too, and Mark laughed. "Or if you don't want to pick, I guess I can." He gestured for them to get going, and Rachel smiled and began buttoning her coat. "How about instead of going to the play tonight, we find a quiet place to talk? I'd love to hear how the old office has been since I left."

As she called out a hasty goodbye to Monica, Rachel could feel her nerves unwinding. She hadn't even realized how stressed she'd been about dating so soon after the break up with Ross, but Mark, so far, was making her feel completely comfortable. They might just end up being friends, and he seemed okay with that.

But on the other hand, she kept noticing certain alluring qualities of his new pants. Maybe moving on wasn't such a bad idea after all.


End file.
